6月20日
Oldest Doctor on Duty
After a lifetime of service, no retirement in sight for a doctor who still loves his job
A long life in medicine
But I get ahead of the story. Born in 1915 in Salt Lake City, Rossiter was exposed to medicine early. When he was 11, his mother fell seriously ill, and he had to care for her. His father, a Union Pacific railroad engineer, took him to hobo settlements to minister to the poor.
After getting a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, Rossiter first specialized as a bone doctor. Ordered into active duty on the Mexican border in October 1941, he was made a radiologist almost overnight after Pearl Harbor.
“The commanding officer said, ‘You’re a surgeon, but you’re also now a radiologist. There’s a freight car down there with an X-ray machine,’” Rossiter remembers.
Rossiter survived the war with more vignettes: He worked in a triage hospital at the Battle of the Bulge. He says his only war injury was a hyper-extended back suffered while playing volleyball on a Normandy beach.
A truly successful life
He came home to a successful career as a radiologist, joining the Menlo Medical Clinic, starting the radiology clinic at Sequoia Hospital, and returning from retirement to Stanford in 1988. He has four children six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. His wife, Rickie, died last year.
He’s done well financially. He says he shoots his age in golf. But the residue of his career is hardly his wealth or even his command of the technology. It’s more the vignettes, and yes, his kindness toward patients.
“If you double u the pillow, if you put a blanket on them, you show your concern,” he says. “The other day, I told a patient, ‘Be sure we have a telephone number for you. Be sure you’re feeling OK.’ The patient said, ‘Nobody’s ever said that to me before.’”
Specialized Terms
Hobo (n) 游民 someone who does not have a job or a house and who moves from one place to another
Radiologist (n) 放射线 （尤指X射线）医疗专家 a person who specializes in the medical use of radiation, especially X-rays
Triage (n) 治疗类选法 a process for sorting injured people into groups based on their need for, or likely benefit from, immediate medical treatment
Vocabulary Focus
Minister to (phr v) to give help to someone who needs it, especially someone who is sick or old
active duty (n) 战时服役
Freight (n) goods transported by ships, airplanes, or trains
Sequoia (n) 红衫
Residue (n) what remains after a part or quantity is taken or used
Discussion Question
Would you like to still be able to work at 91? If so, why? If not, what age would you like to retire? What do you plan to do after you retire?
Extra Exercise
1. Translate the following sentence into Chinese, ‘Ordered into active duty on the Mexican border in October 1941, he was made a radiologist almost overnight after Pearl Harbor.’
2. According the audio, how to say ‘诺曼第登陆’?
说明：
1.文本摘自《Advanced 彭蒙惠英语》，由chandler30亲自录入。
2.回帖内容为大家讨论类话题，如非个人隐私，请不要选中“只有楼主可见”，以便大家交流。
3.参考答案在二楼，回复可见。
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